“Letters Under the Tree” | 15
From the outskirts of Lima, Peru, a letter “under the tree” from Father Alessio Geraci, Comboni missionary
Dear World,
a Child is born for us, let us celebrate!
Echoing in the air are the words of the angels to the frightened shepherds, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men whom he loves,” closely connecting peace with the glory of God.
The prophet Isaiah, already centuries before this great Event, had prophesied, “the people who walked in darkness saw a great light; on those who dwelt in the land of darkness a light shone.”
This light was seen first by the shepherds: for to them is announced the great joy of the Birth of this Babe who is the God with us and who calls us to be brothers and sisters of all, with all and for all.
The shepherds were a despised category, considered as unclean and therefore they were outcasts, outcasts and had their hearts full of fear, precisely because of their condition; however, to them-and to all of us today, who for various reasons have so much fear in our hearts-in this Christmas 2024, in this sad time of the “third world war in pieces,” is said: Do not fear!
To those who are constantly being excluded, marginalized, mocked, humiliated, persecuted, despised because of where they come from, the color of their skin, the way they speak, the way they dress, the way they love and those they love, the way they pray, the way they think, even today this Birth is a sign of hope and comes to tell us that God is still with us, and always will be, because He is the God with us!
Christmas is an unexpected phone call, an embrace of sincere reconciliation, a gesture of tenderness and gratitude, a word of comfort, a smile that restores life, a gesture of hope, a concrete action of forgiveness and mercy. And these things must be done every day…so…Christmas is either Christmas all year round…or it will be Christmas only once a year!
It will then be truly Christmas if we do not close the doors of our hearts because we are too cold, but open them wide to Christ, recognizing and welcoming him in every impoverished person, in every migrant person, in every sick person, in every person we meet on our journey.
It will truly be Christmas if we put into practice with Him, without fear and in solidarity with all the impoverished of the world, His revolution of Love. A non-violent revolution where the only weapons allowed are love and forgiveness, a revolution that does not produce dead, wounded, widows and orphans, but only and only fraternity and brotherhood.
At Christmas we make living memory of a decisive encounter for History because “the Word became flesh and came to dwell among us” (Jn. 1:14). In our midst: that is the reason for us Christians of the joy of Christmas! God became one of us to live among us, sharing our human frailty.
God is the One who, paraphrasing the Irish writer Abraham Stoker “has crossed the oceans of time” to visit us!
He also visits you to tell you in tender words that “you are a special being and I will take care of you” as Franco Battiato sings in his song, “The Cure.”
On the night just past, Pope Francis opened the Holy Door inaugurating the Jubilee year.
Please never forget to leave open the holy door of your heart, so that God’s merciful love can come in and can go out, shared with those who need it most!
God, who is all-powerful in love and mercy, like a father who tucks his children in, tells us in this Christmas 2024 not to fear; like a mother who gets out of bed at night to check and watch over her children’s sleep, tells us in this Christmas 2024 to be calm, to keep fighting so that life will win! Always!
Merry Christmas 2024 from the southern suburbs of Lima.
(Father Alessio Geraci, Comboni missionary in Peru)
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